It appears that Michigan lawmakers will be heading back to the drawing board when it comes to solving the issue of repairing the state’s crumbling roads and bridges.

Voters have sent Lansing’s complex solution for funding repairs to Michigan’s infrastructure into the scrap heap, voting “no” to Proposal 1 at the ballots Tuesday. The proposal, which, among other measures, would have raised the sales tax from 6 to 7 percent, was shot down by a margin of nearly 4-1 in some portions of the state.

Cass and Berrien county residents who hit the polls Tuesday fell in line with the rest of the state electorate. Unofficial results show Cass voters rejecting the proposal by a nearly 65 percent margin, with Berrien voters slightly higher at 67 percent.

If passed by voters, Proposal 1 would have raised more than $1 billion worth of funding for road repairs and through the enactment of 10 pieces of legislation.

In addition to the sales tax increase, the proposal would have eliminated sales tax from gasoline sales, and would have instituted a variable rate for the state’s gas tax that would have fluctuated with the price of oil.

It would have also enacted several other reforms, including eliminating universities from receiving funds through the state school aid fund, and would increased the state Earned Income Tax Credit.

Local lawmakers cite a number of issues that area constituents had with the proposal, including the complex nature of its solution and distaste in the proposed tax hike.

“I think voters are looking for a clear and simple solution instead of a confusing and complicated tax increase,” said State Sen. John Proos (R-St. Joseph).

Proos, whose district represents voters in Cass and Berrien counties, voted against the legislation that placed the decision in voters’ hands back in December, during the final days of a lame duck session at the state capital.

Despite the public’s denouncement of proposal, the funding of additional repairs for the state’s roadways, which are ranked among the worst in the U.S., remains a top priority among both lawmakers and residents alike, Proos said. With the proposal now dead, the lawmaker suggests that Lansing looks internally at its own budgets to come up with funds for

these projects.

“The solution should first be reforms and a thorough review our current spending priorities before we ask tax payers for additional money,” Proos said.

Rep. Aaron Miller (R-Sturgis) shares a similar opinion, pointing out that money devoted toward programs such as the Michigan Economic Development Corporation or for subsidies given to movie productions filmed in Michigan could be diverted elsewhere.

“It will be painful for a lot of budgets, but the people have spoken and they want us to look at our current funding,” Miller said.

For lawmakers who supported the proposal, like 78th District Rep. Dave Pagel (R-Berrien Springs), Tuesday’s result shows that Lansing needs to come up with simpler, more straightforward way to solve this longstanding issue.

“I think a solution is not right within reach right now,” Pagel said. “We have to sit down and really work on it, but it can be done.”